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Ask the Tropers:
resolved Colonel-Knight-Rider and The Super Mario Bros. Movie Hate
Okay, so a certain troper, Colonel-Knight-Rider, has been adding multiple They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character entries on the YMMV section of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and one of them especially stuck out to me as being especially nitpicky.
- Spike. His only reason for being in the movie is to drive home the point further that Mario and Luigi hated their old jobs, whatever they were, hence their plumbing business; and that they've received unjust derision for their ambitions, which they've already received repeatedly from their father. Beyond that, he does nothing to help or hinder Mario's quest to save Luigi. And, during the final battle, pretty much all Spike does is notice Bowser's castle popping up in Brooklyn before fleeing from the unusual sight. If Spike disappeared from the movie, the Mario Bros. would still undergo the same character arc of trying to win their father's approval. (By contrast, the activities of what many consider to be his 1993 movie counterpart Anthony Scapelli kickstart the Bros.' whole interdimensional adventure!)
Ignoring the fact that Spike's whole point in the movie is to be a minor character, he actually does impact the plot in some way by being one of the main reasons for why Mario feels so "small" and "insignificant" to everyone and adding to Mario's motivation of wanting to feel more important, which is what motivates him to fix a flooding in Brooklyn and therefore leads him and Luigi to the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands respectively and the rest is history. Also some weird 1993 movie glazing because Vindicated by History I guess.
Also the troper who added this, Colonel-Knight-Rider, seemingly has a serious vendetta and hatred towards this movie as they have been adding constant negative examples and downright complainy edits at times to their examples in this movie's YMMV section (with them also citing a random YouTuber, The Little Platoon, who gave a negative review towards the movie in many of their YMMV edits and examples for some reason)
This is their edit about said YouTuber in the Awesome Music section for some reason.
- While YouTube commentator The Little Platoon argued that the movie wasted a lot of opportunities to do something original with its source material to create a unique experience one couldn't get from just playing a game, he, too, stated that he enjoyed Tyler's score, citing it as the most redeeming aspect of the film by balancing the familiar with the new.
This is their edit about said YouTuber again on the They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot section.
- Another complaint among fans, particularly YouTube commentators such as The Little Platoon, is that the movie wasted its potential to do something more with its references besides simply showing them to appeal to nostalgia for the games—specifically, to use them to build a more complex and intricate world with them and develop the main and supporting cast more, as well as to take time to introduce the characters and the world they inhabit to people who might not know who they are (sure, Mario and Luigi are pretty well-known even in non-fan circles, but not as many non-fans know who Peach, Bowser, Toad, Kamek, etc. are), in a manner similar to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced its characters to non-Marvel Comics fans and expanded the Marvel fanbase as a result.
All of this implies a possible case of Single-Issue Wonk is at foot here. For example, this is a Kong section that they added to the They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character section with an especially complainy part at the end that was edited out by another troper.
- The Kongs themselves. Even if Peach had never taken Mario and Toad to the Jungle Kingdom, Mario still would have trained more to learn how different power-ups work and how to navigate different obstacles, used the power-ups to be a One-Man Army and save Luigi and the other hostages, accidentally transported the principle players and Bowser's castle to Brooklyn, gotten a hold of the Super Star, and saved the day, just like he does in the final cut. In that sense, the Kongs, like a lot of stuff in this movie, were added solely for nostalgic appeal and contribute nothing to the outcome of the story whatsoever.
This is not the first time they’ve done this too. They did this before on January this year as well with just as much of an egregiously complainy addition at the end as well. I deleted this one myself because of how egregiously complainy it was as well as giving reasons as to why the Kongs were necessary to the plot of the movie.
- The Kongs. With or without them, Mario still would've trained to perfection (and likely learned more about how powerups work, so he'd know which to use to save the prisoners himself without Donkey Kong's strength) rescued Luigi, created a dimensional merge with the Bomber Bill, and saved the day with the Super Star, just like he did. Effectively, with the Bros. being a one- (or two-) man army, Peach didn't need help from the Kongs at all, but they were clearly included nonetheless to pad out the runtime and for nostalgic appeal, as were a fair bit of things in this movie.
I tried DMing them to stop with their seemingly Single-Issue Wonk behavior regarding this movie and they did at first adjust and edit their Kong example to be more fair and less complainy as shown here:
- The Kongs, at least those excluding Donkey Kong. Even if Peach had never taken Mario and Toad to the Jungle Kingdom, Mario still would have trained more to learn how different power-ups work and how to navigate different obstacles, used the power-ups to be a One-Man Army and save Luigi and the other hostages (possibly with a strength-granting power-up like the Mega Mushroom), accidentally transported the principle players and Bowser's castle to Brooklyn, gotten a hold of the Super Star, and saved the day, just like he does in the final cut. All while not being eaten by the Maw-Ray as a result of never traveling by Kong-made Karts. Although it could be counter-argued that DK's strength is necessary to hoist the prisoners to freedom, with the prospect of saving his species as his motive, the rest of the Kongs don't really get a chance to do what they were hired for after that and fight against Bowser's forces.
and I thought they had stopped altogether, but they have since then continued to add more negative examples like the "Spike" one as well as a So Okay, It's Average example towards the movie as well.
- In the view of professional and amateur critics alike, while the movie succeeds in avoiding Illumination's usual film structure and offers some impressive animation, orchestral scoring, and obvious passion for the source material, it doesn't offer much else beyond that. So, it's a fun, harmless means of escapism Mario fans of all ages with a good few memorable action sequences, and it took a labor of love to create every piece of eye and ear candy, but those expecting to see groundbreaking plot development, complex character dynamics, and meta-humor on par with those of The LEGO Movie or Barbie shouldn't get their hopes up high.
This is an Ass Pull entry that they added on January this year that I deleted for reasons explaining how it’s not an Ass Pull.
- Toad is somehow able to smuggle an ice flower into Peach's wedding bouquet so she can use it to freeze Bowser despite the movie not showing how he got it, let alone in a giant floating castle island made of volcanic rock.
I went to the They Wasted A Perfectly Good Cleanup forum
and they gave me permission to delete their They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character entries so I already took care of those.
Is there anything we should do about the others?
Edited by Fireball246

I just noticed that the page for my personal channel was cut. Is there any way to retrieve the content so it can be archived elsewhere?
If not, it's not the end of the world.